Slipping & Tripping Leads To School Skipping

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09 February 2018 | Updated 01 January 1970

More than £450,000 compensation was paid to Scottish teachers injured at work in 2017 with those teachers affected all unable to come in while they recovered.

The payments were awarded for a wide range of workplace injuries, including those caused by accident, assault or poor working environment according to the EIS, Scotland's biggest teaching union.

Commenting, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, "It is never a pleasant task to report on the amounts of injury compensation that the EIS has secured for its members over the course of the year.

"While the EIS will always stand up for its members and will pursue appropriate compensation for injuries suffered at work, our desire is to eventually report a zero figure for compensation in the future due to the elimination of these types of work related injuries.”

Mr Flanagan continued, "2017's figure of over £450,000 in compensation for teachers and lecturers injured at work demonstrates that there is still a long way to go towards the aim of eliminating workplace injuries in our schools, colleges and universities.

"These environments will never be entirely risk-free, but it is essential that all facilities are as safe as possible for learners and staff alike.”

Slips, trips and falls

The most common cause of injuries continues to be accidents such as slips, trips and falls. "These are also the types of incidents that are entirely avoidable with correct adherence to appropriate health and safety procedures in the workplace," said Flanagan.

Brexit

Flanagan also raised concerns about possible changes to health and safety legislation in the near future as a result of Brexit. He said: "Many of the valuable workplace protections that we enjoy today are the result of EU legislation.

"It is encouraging that the number of instances where teachers have been injured at work has decreased in the last year. This is testament to current Health & Safety regulations which must be retained following the UK’s departure from the European Union.”

Flanagan added: "The EIS has also observed an alarming rise in the number of cases of work- related stress illness and injury claims over the past few years.

"Factors such as budget cuts, and the declining number of teaching and support staff have had a significant impact on the workload demands placed on teachers and lecturers.”

"Yet those in the charge of the management of the education system simply demand more output from less resource.”

"This is compounded by the fact that many teachers return to work when they clearly should be still be off sick, either from for fear of being disciplined because they will hit a sickness absence management trigger or more often to ensure that pupils are not losing out.

"This increases the incidence of work-related stress injury, which can be absolutely debilitating for the individuals concerned.”

Picture: A typical school where slips, trips and falls are still leading to compensation claims by Scottish teachers

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 09 February 2018

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